The New Orleans cocktail scene has matured. A well-crafted drink is no longer hard to find at hotels, restaurants and even the odd dive bar. But if you want to pass the night picking the bartender's brain about bitters or be dazzled by the deep flavors in a tiny coupe, it's still best to consult a cocktail specialist.

Among the local bars where mixology is their mission, each has their own spin on how they shake and stir. At the French Quarter's Bar Tonique, you can get an education on the cocktail from the earliest days to the latest "new classics." Cure on Freret Street aims to be as boundary pushing as the most celebrated cocktail bars in the nation's biggest cities. Bellocq on Lee Circle reaches back to the era before the cocktail to create a menu that feels utterly new.

Other bars are more individualistic in their approach. Victory in the CBD is an urbane as its neighborhood. Inside the high design International House Hotel, Loa explores the entire plant kingdom, both edible (sage, dill or apples) and not (Spanish moss). And if you're looking for a fine drink without all the folderol, Twelve Mile Limit offers a neighborhood bar attitude and cocktail prices that hover in the mid-one-figure range.